High frequency medium voltage drive system for high speed machine applications

ABSTRACT

In one aspect, a medium voltage power converter includes a plurality of slices each having: a transformer including a plurality of primary windings to couple to a utility source of input power and a plurality of secondary windings; and a plurality of power cubes coupled to the plurality of secondary windings, each of the plurality of power cubes comprising a low frequency front end stage, a DC link, and a high frequency silicon carbide (SiC) inverter stage to couple to a high frequency load or to a high speed machine.

This invention was made with government support under Grant No.DE-EE0007254 awarded by the Department of Energy. The government hascertain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND

Typical medium voltage (MV) power converters or so-called drive systemsare formed of silicon-based topologies. Such systems do not meetadvanced requirements being demanded by various industries to improveoverall system performance and cost. Specific system challenges includehigher fundamental frequency operation than currently available, e.g.,up to 1000 Hertz (Hz) for direct drive applications, high performance MVdrives to handle power demand within a medium power range (e.g., up to20 megawatts (MW)), overall converter system efficiencies better than97%, and reduced volumetric power density and footprint to improvesystem power density and cost. Current systems are not capable of suchoperation.

Rather, traditional multi-megawatt and multi-level medium voltage powerconverter technology based on silicon devices operate within the rangeof 0-120 Hz of fundamental frequency, 600 Hz switching, and efficienciesup to 95%. Operation at higher fundamental frequencies is prohibited dueto high switching loss causing stiff system de-rating, dramatic systemefficiency and power density reductions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a medium voltage power converter includes a plurality ofslices each having: a transformer including a plurality of primarywindings to couple to a utility source of input power and a plurality ofsecondary windings; and a plurality of power cubes coupled to theplurality of secondary windings, each of the plurality of power cubescomprising a low frequency front end stage, a DC link, and a highfrequency silicon carbide (SiC) inverter stage to couple to a highfrequency load or to a high speed machine.

In an embodiment, the medium voltage power converter further comprisesone or more sensors coupled to an input of the medium voltage powerconverter to obtain sensor information. The medium voltage powerconverter may further comprise a circuit breaker system coupled betweenthe utility source of input power and the medium voltage powerconverter. The circuit breaker system may actively connect or disconnectthe medium voltage power converter from the utility source of inputpower based at least in part on the sensor information. The mediumvoltage power converter may further include a grid interface controllerto store and provide support functions to a high speed electric machinecoupled to a high speed mechanical load, and a utility grid system. Thehigh frequency load may be a high speed machine to operate at afrequency between 500-1000 Hertz, where the utility source of inputpower is to operate at a frequency of 50/60 Hertz. The low frequencyfront end stage may be a SiC-based active front end stage. Each of theplurality of power cubes comprises an enclosure having a plurality of ACbus bars displaced towards a first face of the power cube. A DC bus ofthe DC link may have a laminated configuration displaced towards asecond face of the power cube, the laminated configuration having afirst horizontal portion having gate drive openings formed directlythere through. The DC bus may further include a second horizontalportion vertically offset from the first horizontal portion. The secondhorizontal portion may couple to a plurality of capacitors, which mayhave a capacitance on the order of between approximately 7.6-11.4millifarads. The first horizontal portion may comprise: a plurality ofAC bus clearances via which a plurality of AC bus bars are to couple toat least one SiC device; and a plurality of gate driver interfaces viawhich interconnects for communication of gate drive signals are adapted.

In another aspect, a medium voltage power converter includes: aplurality of slices each having a transformer including a plurality ofprimary windings to couple to a point of common coupling of a utility ata first frequency and a plurality of secondary windings each to coupleto one of a plurality of power cubes of the slice, each of the pluralityof power cubes comprising an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)active front end stage, a DC link, and a SiC back end stage to couple toa load at a second frequency, the second frequency greater than thefirst frequency.

In an embodiment, when there is a source of power instead of a load, theSiC back end stage is to operate as a rectifier and the IGBT activefront end stage is to operate as an inverter, to enable generated powerto be provided to the utility via the point of common coupling. Themedium voltage power converter may further include a controller to causethe SiC back end stage to operate as the inverter and the IGBT activefront end stage to operate as the rectifier when the utility is thesource of power.

In another aspect, a transformer for a medium voltage power convertercomprises: a plurality of core legs adapted between a first column and asecond column, each of the plurality of core legs having: a set ofprimary windings adapted around the corresponding core leg; and a set ofsecondary windings adapted around the set of primary windings.

In an embodiment, each of the plurality of core legs is associated witha phase of three-phase power. The set of primary windings for a firstcore leg may be connected in parallel. In an embodiment, each of a firstset of secondary windings adapted around the set of primary windingsadapted around a first core leg is coupled to one of a first power cube,the first power cube comprising a low frequency front end stage, a DClink, and a high frequency back end stage, a second power cubecomprising a low frequency front end stage, a DC link, and a highfrequency back end stage and a third power cube comprising a lowfrequency front end stage, a DC link, and a high frequency back endstage; each of a second set of secondary windings adapted around the setof primary windings adapted around a second core leg is coupled one ofthe first power cube, the second power cube and the third power cube;and each of a third set of secondary windings adapted around the set ofprimary windings adapted around a third core leg is coupled to one ofthe first power cube, the second power cube and the third power cube.

In an embodiment, the plurality of secondary windings provides abalanced impedance to the plurality of power cubes. Each of the set ofprimary windings may be spaced from another of the set of primarywindings by a first separation distance of at least two inches toprovide decoupling from each other. The plurality of secondary windingsprovides an amount of the balanced impedance to the plurality of powercubes to ensure control stability. Each of the set of primary windingsmay be spaced from the set of secondary windings by a second separationdistance of at least a half inch.

In another aspect, a medium voltage power converter includes a cabinethaving: a power cube bay to house a plurality of power cubes, each ofthe plurality of power cubes adapted within a corresponding enclosureand comprising a low frequency front end stage, a DC link and a highfrequency back end stage, the plurality of power cubes to couple to ahigh speed machine; and a plurality of first barriers adapted to isolateand direct a first flow of cooling air through one of the plurality ofpower cubes; and a transformer bay having at least one transformer tocouple between a utility connection and the plurality of power cubes,the transformer bay including a plurality of cooling fans to cool the atleast one transformer.

In an embodiment, the cabinet includes at least one first opening todivert the first flow of cooling air from the transformer bay to thepower cube bay and at least one second opening to direct a flow of airexiting the plurality of power cubes from the power cube bay to thetransformer bay. The plurality of cooling fans may exhaust the exitingflow of air. The cabinet may include a permeable member to enable asecond flow of cooling air from an ambient environment to be directedthrough the at least one transformer via the plurality of cooling fans.The cabinet may be implemented as a sealed enclosure. In an example, thetransformer bay is to be air cooled and the power cube bay is to beliquid cooled. The power cube bay may be isolated from the transformerbay.

In an embodiment, the power cube bay includes: a heat exchanger toremove heat from the first flow of cooling air; a first opening toenable the first flow of cooling air to be directed through theplurality of power cubes; and a second opening to direct a flow ofheated air from the plurality of power cubes to the heat exchanger.

In another aspect, a system includes one or more medium voltage powerconverters, each of which may include a first cabinet having: a powercube bay to house a plurality of power cubes, each of the plurality ofpower cubes adapted within a corresponding enclosure and comprising alow frequency front end stage, a DC link and a high frequency back endstage, the plurality of power cubes to couple to a high speed machine; atransformer bay having at least one transformer to couple between autility connection and the plurality of power cubes. The transformer baymay include a plurality of cooling fans to cool the at least onetransformer. The at least one transformer may include: a plurality ofcore legs adapted between a first column and a second column, where: afirst core leg has a first plurality of cold plates adapted there about,a first set of primary windings adapted around the first plurality ofcold plates, and a first set of secondary windings adapted around thefirst set of primary windings; a second core leg has a second pluralityof cold plates adapted there about, a second set of primary windingsadapted around the second plurality of cold plates, and a second set ofsecondary windings adapted around the second set of primary windings; athird core leg has a third plurality of cold plates adapted there about,a third set of primary windings adapted around the third plurality ofcold plates, and a third set of secondary windings adapted around thethird set of primary windings.

In an embodiment, the system further includes: a first cold plateadapted about at least a portion of the first column; and a second coldplate adapted about at least a portion of the second column. The firstcabinet may be sealed with regard to an ambient environment, where atleast one first opening is provided between the transformer bay and thepower cube bay to provide a first flow of cooling air from thetransformer bay to the power cube bay and at least one second opening isprovided between the transformer bay and the power cube bay to provide aflow of exhaust air from the power cube bay to the transformer bay.

In an example, the system further comprises a plurality of firstbarriers adapted to isolate and direct a first flow of cooling airthrough one of the plurality of power cubes. The system may furtherinclude a first two-phase cooling system to cool the at least onetransformer via the first, second and third plurality of cold plates,and a second two-phase cooling system to cool at least the low frequencyfront end stage and the high frequency back end stage of the pluralityof power cubes.

In another embodiment, an apparatus includes a cabinet having a mediumvoltage power converter. The cabinet may include: a power cube bay tohouse a plurality of power cubes, each of the plurality of power cubesadapted within a corresponding enclosure and comprising a front endstage, a DC link and a back end stage; a plurality of first barriersadapted to isolate and direct a flow of cooling air through one of theplurality of power cubes; and a transformer bay having at least onetransformer to couple between a utility connection and the plurality ofpower cubes. The transformer bay may include: a plurality of coolingfans to direct the flow of cooling air, the cabinet including at leastone first opening to direct the flow of cooling air from the transformerbay to the power cube bay and at least one second opening to direct aflow of air exiting the plurality of power cubes from the power cube bayto the transformer bay.

In an embodiment, the apparatus further includes: a first plurality ofcold plates adapted around a first core leg of the at least onetransformer, and interposed between the first core leg and a first setof primary windings adapted around the first core leg; a secondplurality of cold plates adapted around a second core leg of the atleast one transformer, and interposed between the second core leg and asecond set of primary windings adapted around the second core leg; and athird plurality of cold plates adapted around a third core leg of the atleast one transformer, and interposed between the third core leg and athird set of primary windings adapted around the third core leg.

In an embodiment, the apparatus may further include: a first cold plateadapted about at least a portion of a first column of the at least onetransformer; and a second cold plate adapted about at least a portion ofa second column of the at least one transformer. The apparatus mayfurther comprise a first two-phase cooling system to cool the at leastone transformer via the first, second and third plurality of cold platesand a second two-phase cooling system to cool at least the plurality ofpower cubes. The cabinet may be a sealed enclosure. The apparatus mayfurther include a plurality of reactors adapted within the transformerbay, each of the plurality of reactors coupled between the at least onetransformer and a corresponding one of the plurality of power cubes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a high speed power conversionenvironment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a representative SiC-based modularpower building block in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a power cube in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a power cube in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a modular multi-megawatt powerconverter system in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an interface circuit in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a power conversion cabinet in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view diagram of a power conversion cabinet inaccordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a power conversion cabinet in accordance withyet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a block diagram of details of a cooling arrangement for atransformer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a rear view of a transformer that further illustrates acooling arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8C is a cross-sectional view of a transformer column that furtherillustrates a cooling arrangement in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8D is an illustration of a transformer in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8E is a schematic diagram of transformer connections in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graphical illustration diagram of a slice transformerefficiency curve in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a graphical illustration of a slice arrangement in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 11 is a graphical illustration of a full SiC-based power cube inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a graphical illustration of a DC bus arrangement inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an arrangement having decoupled AC and DC buses in accordancewith an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments, a high speed and frequency modular mediumvoltage drive system can be realized with a wide-band-gap (WBG)-basedmedium voltage (MV) power converter. Such power converter enables highspeed machine drive systems. In some systems, a WBG-based MV powerconverter and a high speed induction machine can couple together toprovide bidirectional power transfer capability. The power transferoccurs between a utility grid and a mechanical load. In otherembodiments, the power converter system can be connected to anelectrical or other high speed load that can act as a source, so thatthe system can transfer collected energy to a utility distribution powergrid at a proper voltage and current.

The system construction can be based on full WBG devices such as siliconcarbide (SiC) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors(MOSFETs) for high efficiency systems, or insulated gate bipolartransistor (IGBT)-based systems for low cost applications where systemde-rating is permitted and minimum system power density and footprintare not restrictive. In another embodiment, a hybrid power topology(e.g., IGBT and SiC power MOSFET combinations) can be used for ease ofelectrical switching requirements or for low cost considerations whilemaintaining acceptable overall system performance.

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is a schematic diagram of a powerconversion environment in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. More specifically as shown in FIG. 1, power conversionenvironment 100 is implemented with a high speed and frequency modularmedium voltage drive system with a hybrid converter configuration aspreviously described. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a drive system115 is coupled via a point of common coupling (PCC) connection to autility distribution power grid (which may operate at a frequency of 50or 60 Hz, depending on country) through a circuit breaker system 105. Inturn, drive system 115 couples to a high speed machine 140 that in turnmay couple to a high speed mechanical load, as an example.

Drive system 115 may be implemented in one or more cabinets. In anembodiment, drive system 115 may be implemented as a 1.8-2.3 MVA highfrequency variable speed drive having a nominal voltage of 4160 volts(V), and operable at between 500-1000 Hertz (Hz). As illustrated, drivesystem 115 may include a multi-slice arrangement with a single mainscontroller where a converter system controller resides and 3 slicesimplemented as a subsystem 120. In the high level view of FIG. 1, notethat subsystem 120 is formed of slices including hybrid technology,namely front ends formed of IGBTs and back ends formed of SiCs,resulting in a hybrid topology. As used herein, the term “slice” is usedto refer to a portion of a power conversion system including at leastone transformer and multiple so-called power cubes that includesemiconductor switching devices. A slice-based system thus couplesbetween a grid connection, and which may operate at a first, lowfrequency and a load connection, which may operate at a second, highfrequency. And as described herein, depending upon given systemimplementation and control configuration, the direction of power flowthrough a slice may be bi-directional. Note as used herein, the term“low frequency” is intended to refer to a frequency of a utility,generally less than 100 Hz, and more particularly 50 or 60 Hz. And asused herein, the term “high frequency” is intended to refer to operationat a frequency substantially greater than the utility frequency. Forexample, representative use cases of a power converter as herein maycouple to high frequency loads of between approximately 500 Hz-1000 Hz.

While shown with a hybrid topology in FIG. 1, understand that in otherimplementations, a full WBG-based topology may exist. With associatedelectronics, this arrangement of drive system 115 is also referred toherein as a modular power building block (MPBB). Details of a given MPBBand slice will be described further below. As seen, subsystem 120couples between an input from the utility distribution power grid via avacuum contactor VC1 and a transient-voltage-suppression (TVS)protection D1. In turn, an output of subsystem 120 couples via a 3-phasesingle shielded power cable 129 to another enclosure 140, which housesan electric machine 145.

With reference to the further details shown in the illustration of FIG.1, drive system 115 further includes a remote cooling unit 123 coupledto subsystem 120 via fiber optic link. In addition, a high voltagefeedback board (HVF) 122 couples between the input to subsystem 120 andits output. HVF 122 further couples to a main system control board(MSCB) 124 that in turn couples to a system programmable logiccontroller (PLC) 126. As illustrated, system PLC 126 further couples toa fiber-to-RS232 converter 128 to provide a fiber optic interface. Inaddition, HVF 122 couples to a receiver 125. Communications blocks 128and 125 provide a fiber optic implementation to minimize latency andnoise impact on local command communication signals between variablefrequency speed drive system 115 and high speed machine 140. Systemcontroller MSCB 124 processes control signal received from HVF 122,system PLC 126, and receiver 125. System controller MSCB 124 transmitsproduced actions via system PLC 126 to the rest of the system andvoltage command references to subsystem 120 for space vector pulse widthmodulation (SVPWM) and spread carrier PWM switch modulationimplementations.

Still with reference to FIG. 1, details of high speed machine 140 arealso shown. As illustrated, high speed machine 140 may be, in anembodiment, rated at 4160V and 15,000 RPM or other ratings at highervoltage and speed. High speed machine 140 includes an electric machine145 that receives 3-phase power via a shielded power cable 129.Measurements regarding parameters of electric machine 145 may be made byvarious components including RTDs 143, which outputs can be sent througha fiber optic link via a RTD-to-fiber converter 142, accelerometers 152,proximity probes 154, and a key phasor 156. As illustrated, thesecomponents may be in communication with a controller, namely a gridinterface controller 160 that further couples to system PLC 126 of drivesystem 115 via fiber optic interfaces. In a preferred embodiment, gridinterface controller 160 resides within MPBB 115 and provides advancedsupport functions to high speed machine 140, a high speed mechanicalload controller 165, and a grid system manager 170. Furthermore, gridinterface controller 160 provides local smart capability by storing andprocessing interconnectivity information, e.g., advanced supportfunction algorithms.

As further seen, high speed machine 140 also includes a power supply 141which may be configured as a 120 VAC/24 VDC power supply that in turnpowers a transmitter 144 and an encoder 146 that may couple to amechanical load. Although shown at this high level in the embodiment ofFIG. 1, many variations and alternatives are possible.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, shown is a schematic diagram of arepresentative SiC-based modular power building block (MPBB) 200. Intypical implementations, modularity may be provided by a drive systemhaving multiple MPBBs. Yet for ease of illustration, only a single MPBBis shown in FIG. 2A. In embodiments, MPBB 200 may be implemented in oneor more modular housings, for example, a number of cabinet enclosures.With reference to MPBB 200, a plurality of slices 225 ₁-225 ₃ arepresent. In an example modular implementation, each slice 225 may beimplemented in its own slice cabinet. In addition, although not shownfor ease of illustration in FIG. 2, understand that a MPBB may furtherinclude another cabinet for housing a mains controller and itsassociated electronics circuitry, such as illustrated in the high levelview of FIG. 1.

As seen, each slice 225 includes a transformer 230 ₁-230 ₃. Eachtransformer is a 3-phase transformer that may have a primary configuredin a WYE configuration and a secondary configured in a DELTAconfiguration. More specifically, each transformer 230 includes aplurality of transformer legs (three legs per transformer), which may beadapted between a pair of columns of the transformer. Each transformerleg has a 3 WYE input winding configuration connected in parallel at theinput (WYE equivalent) and a 3 isolated DELTA winding configuration atthe output. For the three transformers 230 ₁-230 ₃, all 9 WYE primaryconfigurations are connected in parallel at the input (GRID). Asillustrated, the secondary windings of transformers 230 in turn coupleto corresponding power cubes 240 _(A1)-240 _(C3). As used herein, theterm “power cube” refers to an electronics module includingsemiconductor devices that receive switching signals to performrectification and inversion operations to condition a flow of incomingpower, including converting incoming power of a first frequency tooutgoing conditioned power of a second frequency. Depending upondirection of power flow, the first frequency may be higher than thesecond frequency or vice-versa.

In the high level view of FIG. 2A and as more particularly shown in theschematic diagram of FIG. 2B in one implementation each of a pluralityof power cubes 240 _(1,a-c)-240 _(3,a-c) is implemented as a full SiCpower cube including an active front end (AFE) converter 242 formed of aplurality of SiC switching devices, a DC bus implemented with acapacitance C1, and an H-bridge converter stage 244 implemented withanother plurality of SiC switching devices. Note when the power flowsfrom left to right in the block diagram of FIG. 2B, then component 242is a rectifier and component 244 an inverter. When the power flows fromright to left, then component 242 works as an inverter and component 244as a rectifier. AFE means that the stage is actively controlled. In thisembodiment the switching frequency of the SiC devices is set between 4and 12 kHz, however other switching frequencies might be used dependingon various operational requirements (e.g., 2-phase cold plate thermalcapability limit) and desired performance targets (e.g., DC busregulation control stability). For example, during generation operationmode (from right to left on power cube 240), the commanded active poweris taken at the single-phase AC side operated at 740VAC and processed bypower converter stage 244 using a PWM control scheme. This power istransferred via the DC-link capacitor bank C1 regulated at 1000VDC bypower stage 242 using a SVPWM control scheme and deposited at the3-phase AC side at 600V. The collected system power energy istransferred to the power grid via circuit breaker system 105 commandedby control actions implemented on grid interface controller 160. Duringmotoring operation, active power flows from left to right following theopposite control process described above. During this operation mode,high speed machine system 140 may be controlled using a speed controlalgorithm implemented on MSCB 124.

In the implementation of FIG. 2C, an alternate embodiment of a powercube is shown in schematic form. Here, power cube 240′ is implementedwith a hybrid topology having a front end 246 formed of IGBTs, a DC busrepresented as a capacitance C1, and a back end stage 248 implementedwith SiCs. As with the above discussion, depending upon the direction ofpower flow, either of front end stage 246 and back end stage 248 may actas an inverter or rectifier. In this embodiment, the front end switchingfrequency is set between 2 kHz and 6 kHz, and the back end switchingfrequency is set between 6 kHz and 12 kHz, however other switchingfrequencies might be used depending on various operational requirementsand desired performance targets. The main advantage of the powertopology of power cube 240′ may be a cost competitive systemimplementation. Back end stage 248 may utilize SiC-based devices (e.g.,1700V SiC power MOSFETS) and front end stage 246 may be implementedusing low cost Si-based devices (e.g., 1700V IGBTs).

Referring now to FIG. 3, shown is a schematic diagram of a system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3, system 300 is implemented as a multi-megawatt scale powerconverter system 310. More specifically, representative power converter310 is implemented as a scalable multi-megawatt full SiC-based powerconverter implemented with a plurality of modular drive enclosures 315₁-315 _(n), or SiC MPBBs, each including a multi-slice drive system 320₁-320 _(n). Each MPBB 315 includes a multi-slice drive system 320 andmains cabinet (system controller, output/input sensors, input/output ACconnections). The number of MPBBs, that form a given power converter isdesign specific based on power requirements.

As illustrated, power converter 310 couples to a grid 302 that maysupply 3-phase power at 13.8 kilovolts (kV). As seen, power converter310 couples to grid 302 by way of a PCC. In turn, power converter 310may couple to various loads, including a high speed electrical machine340 that can couple to a high speed mechanical load or anotherelectrical machine system (not shown). As illustrated, in the embodimentshown, each power converter 310 may output 3-phase power at 4.16 kV at agiven frequency (e.g., between 500-1000 Hz) or higher voltage rating forother high speed machine system implementations.

With reference to representative power conversion system 310, incomingpower is provided through a circuit breaker system 305 to an input of agiven drive enclosure 315. In an example embodiment, such incoming powermay be provided at 74 amperes (A). And in an embodiment, each MPBB 315including a set of slices may output power at 350A. In the high levelview illustrated in FIG. 3, each MPBB 315 may include components asdiscussed above in FIG. 1, including vacuum contactor, TSV diode, at aninput to the slices.

As further illustrated, sensors 312 _(1A) and 312 _(1B) may be provided,respectively at the input and output of the slices. In an embodiment,such sensors may include 100A and 500 LEM sensors for 13.8 kV/4.16 kVMPBB systems, to provide information regarding operation of the slicesand implement system protection and grid connectivity. Morespecifically, based on sensing information, circuit breaker system 305coupled at the utility side for grid connectivity can respond toconverter commands under system control, to maintain connected ordisconnected power converter 310 from grid 302 during normal systemoperation or during system fault events. Note that in embodiments,sensors such as sensors 312 may be located locally as shown or remotelyto provide information including voltage, current and frequency from thepower grid side.

In this way, a drive system formed of one or more MPBBs may couplebetween a grid connection and a high frequency load. For example, theinput of the MPBBs may couple to a grid connection that operates at3-phase at 60 Hz, 13.8 kV and the output of the MPBBs provide(s) outputpower to a high frequency load that may operate, e.g., at 500 Hz, 4.16kV and 3-phase. Conversely the MPBB may couple a high frequencygenerator operating, e.g., at 500 Hz, 4.16 kV 3-phase to a 3-phase gridconnection at 60 Hz, 13.8 kV.

In an embodiment, a fiber optic SiC gate driver interface may beimplemented to enhance system noise immunity and provide local controlsignal management. It can be adapted to any commercial or custom-madedual SiC-based device solution. In one embodiment, the interface may beadapted on a circuit board that can be located directly on top of adevice gate driver to minimize inductive coupling during signalinterfacing. An FPGA chip on-board may be used to locally implementsmart features to improve SiC device performance and simplify packagingwithin this agent. Control and status signal corruption may be mitigatedbetween controller and half bridge gate drivers due to high electricalnoise environments of SiC systems. A simplex fiber optic can be used toconvey the half bridge switching states and gate driver board controlfrom the controller to the gate driver. A simplex fiber optic can beused to convey fault states and SiC MOSFET temperature from the halfbridge gate driver to the controller. An isolated power supply can beused for each half bridge gate driver to minimize ground loops betweenindividual half bridge controls.

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown is a block diagram of an interfacecircuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Morespecifically as shown in FIG. 4, interface circuit 400 may beimplemented with a fiber optic SiC gate driver interface to providecontrol to the various switching components of a slice as describedherein.

As illustrated, interface circuit 400 includes a cube controller 410that may generate various control and switching signals, e.g., based onfeedback status information as well as control information received froma higher level controller (such as a slice controller, not shown forease of illustration in FIG. 4). Cube controller 410 is shown to coupleto a plurality of interfaces 420 ₁-420 _(n). As seen with regard torepresentative interface 420 ₁, included is a DC/DC power supply 425that provides power to a gate drive fiber interface (GDFI) fiber opticinterface controller 430, in turn coupled to a general SiC gate driver435. Such gate driver may in turn couple to a half bridge SiC or IGBTmodule 440. Note that SiCs/IGBTs are not themselves present on aninterface 420 and they are coupled below interface board and directly ona cold plate, as described further below. As illustrated, cubecontroller 410 may communicate fiber optically various informationincluding gate state and control signals with controller 430. Also viafiber optic communication, IGBT and driver status may be communicatedback to cube controller 410 (collectively, these bi-directional signalsare shown as signals 450). Copper interconnects may be used to providecommunication between controller 430 and gate driver 435.

Although embodiments are not limited in this regard, by using fiberoptic communication, a distance of between approximately 0.1-50 meterscan be realized between cube controller 410 and interface controllers430. And with copper coupling between interface controllers 430 and gatedrivers 435, a relatively small distance may be maintained (e.g., 1.5inches).

Embodiments may provide cooling of transformers and inverters indifferent manners. In some cases, both sections as implemented in agiven slice cabinet may be air cooled. And one or more of thetransformer and inverter sections may be liquid cooled by way of atwo-phase cooling system.

In various embodiments, power transformer cooling constructions mayprovide for improved heat rejection. Transformer and power cubes can bethrough air cooled to enhance heat rejection transfer (taking advantageof mechanical barriers). Whether the overall cooling is air or liquidcooling, understand that internal power cube cooling of mainsemiconductor (i.e., all SiCs and IGBTs) components can be done using2-phase cooling.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown is a side view of a power conversioncabinet in accordance with an embodiment. Note that cabinet 500 is aslice cabinet (having a single transformer and 3 power cubes).Understand that in an embodiment, a MPBB is made with 3 cabinet slicesas defined in FIG. 2. As illustrated in the cross-sectional view of FIG.5, cabinet 500 includes a transformer section 510 and an invertersection 550. As illustrated, transformer section 510 includes atransformer 515 having multiple transformer legs 515 ₁-515 ₃. In thisdesign, incoming air may be received, e.g., via a grill or otherpermeable member on a front portion of cabinet 500. As seen, incomingairflow is directed through transformer legs 515 by way of a pluralityof cooling fans 520 ₁-520 ₃, which exhaust air through the back ofcabinet 500. A mechanical barrier to separate cube and transformersections may be implemented as a horizontal barrier formed of GPO-3polyester material. This barrier has openings at 568 and 570 as shown.

In turn, additional air is directed from transformer section 510 toinverter section 550 via one or more openings 568, where it passesthrough a plurality of power cubes 560 ₁-560 ₃. Note that inembodiments, mechanical barriers 565 ₀-565 ₃, e.g., formed of GPO-3polyester material, force air flow from opening 568 to pass throughpower cubes 560 ₁-560 ₃ for proper system cooling action. In this way,each power cube receives a direction of fresh air for cooling, which isthen exhausted from a rear of cubes 560 and downwardly through one ormore openings 570 back into transformer section 510. Via thesemechanisms, air circulation is provided, where this air is directed outvia fans 520. As such, transformer legs 515 and power cubes 560 receivefresh air from outside and air is exhausted at the back of the cabinet.

Referring now to FIG. 6, shown is a side view diagram of a powerconversion cabinet in accordance with another embodiment. As illustratedin the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, cabinet 600 includes atransformer section 610 and an inverter section 650. As illustrated,transformer 615 has multiple transformer legs 615 ₁-615 ₃. In thisdesign, incoming air may be received, e.g., via a grill on a frontportion of cabinet 600. As seen, incoming airflow is directed throughtransformers legs 615 by way of a plurality of cooling fans 620 ₁-620 ₃,which exhaust air through the back of cabinet 600. As illustrated inFIG. 6, transformer section 610 may be air cooled in the same manner asdiscussed above with regard to FIG. 5. However, in contrast to the FIG.5 embodiment, FIG. 6 provides an arrangement in which inverter section650 is liquid cooled. As such, inverter section 650 may remain sealedwith respect to transformer section 610, such that there is no airexchange with transformer section 610.

As further illustrated, cooling for inverter section 650 may be providedvia a cooling section 680, which provides a flow of liquid coolant forinverter section 650 using 2-phase cooling in a sealed fashion. Toenhance power cube heat rejection, the 2-phase liquid can be circulatedthrough a heat exchanger coupled externally to cabinet 600. With coolingfans 670 provided within inverter section 650, air may recirculatethroughout inverter section 650. In some embodiments, to realize thiscapability for liquid cooling within inverter section 650, an extendedcabinet with a bumpout section may be provided. Barriers 665 ₀-665 ₃further direct the cooling air flow produced by cooling fans 670 throughpower cubes 660 ₁-660 ₃.

In yet another embodiment, both transformer and power cubes are 2-phaseliquid cooled to maximize slice heat rejection transfer as illustratedin FIG. 7. Referring now to FIG. 7, shown is a side view of a powerconversion cabinet in accordance with yet another embodiment. Asillustrated in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7, cabinet 700 includesa transformer section 710 and an inverter section 750. As illustrated, atransformer 715 includes multiple transformer legs 715 ₁-715 ₃. Notethat cabinet 700 is sealed from external air, but there is an exchangeof air between transformer section 710 and inverter section 750 viaopenings 768 and 770. In an embodiment, a heat exchanger 790 isinstalled between transformer section 710 and internal fans 720 to keepair circulation through transformer coils and power cubes. In additionto heat exchanger 790, one or more cooling plates can also be locateddirectly on the transformer cores. Thus as illustrated in FIG. 7,cooling plates 796, 798 may be adapted to front and rear portions oftransformer 715. As illustrated in the high level view of FIG. 7, heatexchanger 790 may include coolant ports 792, 794 to direct a flow ofcoolant through heat exchanger 790. Similar cooling of inverter section750 via a direction of cooled air provided via opening 770 enablescorresponding power cubes 760 to be cooled, with heated air flowing backto transformer section 710 via opening 768. Barriers 765 ₀-765 ₃ furtherdirect the cooling air flow produced by cooling fans 720 through powercubes 760.

In still other embodiments, additional cooling of a transformer may berealized by providing cold plates located on transformer core faces. Inan embodiment, each core leg can be associated with between 2 to 4 coldplates having a width of, e.g., 6 inches. To enhance transformer coreheat transfer, additional cold plates can be located on the front andback core transformer faces, namely adapted to the columns of thetransformer. Thus in the illustration of FIG. 8A, details of a coolingarrangement for transformers is shown. As illustrated in a side view 810of FIG. 8A, transformer legs 815 ₁-815 ₃ are shown. Cold plates 820 areadapted to front and rear side of transformer columns 811, 812 whichincludes ports 822, 824 to direct a flow of liquid coolant. In addition,a plurality of cold plates 840 ₁-840 ₆ are present. As seen, each coldplate 840 may be installed on top and bottom of core legs and each mayinclude a respective coolant port 842 to provide a flow of liquidcoolant. As further illustrated in FIG. 8A, there may be insulation andair channels between different transformer windings and cold plates.

Still with reference to FIG. 8A, an arrangement of the windings oftransformer 815 is illustrated. More specifically, transformer 815includes a separated winding structure in which multiple separatewindings, both primary and secondary, are provided for each transformerleg 815. In the view shown in FIG. 8A, three separated primary windings816 ₁-816 ₃ are illustrated for transformer leg 815 ₁. And directlywrapped around each of primary windings 816 is a corresponding one ofmultiple secondary windings 818 ₁-818 ₃. Further details as to thisside-by-side or separated winding arrangement are described below.

FIGS. 8B and 8C further illustrate liquid cooling layouts. Specifically,FIG. 8B shows a rear view of a transformer 815 in which a cold plate 820is adapted to this rear side of the transformer. Note that acorresponding cold plate also may be installed on the front side of thetransformer. Further illustrated are the coolant ports 822, 824. AndFIG. 8C shows a cross-sectional view of a transformer column thatfurther illustrates cold plates that may be adapted on correspondingsides of core legs 815. And note with a generally rectangular or squarecross section of core legs 815, a cold plate may be locatedsubstantially flat or flush with respect to a given face of a core leg.Thus as shown in FIG. 8C, each core leg 815 may have additionalcorresponding cold plates 845 adapted to their sides.

Referring now to FIG. 8D, shown is an illustration of a transformer inaccordance with an embodiment. More specifically, in FIG. 8D, anelectrical arrangement of transformer 815 is shown without any coolingstructures, so as to not obscure details of the segmented windingconfiguration. As illustrated, transformer 815 is formed with aplurality of core legs 815 a-815 c, each coupled between a first column811 and a second column 813. In an embodiment, core legs 815 and columns811, 812 may be formed of iron. With a segmented winding structure, inthe detailed arrangement of first core leg 815 a, which may correspondto a first phase (phase A), a plurality of primary windings 816_(a,1)-816 _(a,3) are present, which are wrapped around core leg 815 a.Note of course that with a cooling arrangement herein, cooling platesmay be interposed between the core leg and these primary windings.

And as further illustrated, corresponding secondary windings 818_(a,1)-818 _(a,3) wrap directly around the corresponding primarywindings. The separation between primary windings and secondary windingsdetermines the equivalent inductance per phase at the secondary side oftransformer 815. The recommended value of leakage inductance to aidcontrol stability of each AFE power stage is achieved by implementing aminimum separation between the windings. In other words, there may be aminimum corresponding separation distance between the wrapped primaryand secondary windings. For example, there may be a spacing of at leasta half inch between a primary winding 816 and a corresponding secondarywinding 818.

In an embodiment, a corresponding separation distance 813, 817 may beadapted between the segmented sets of windings. By providing thesesegmented sets of windings and corresponding separation distances,balanced secondary impedances can be realized. The impedance balancedeffect per phase is achieved by creating a decoupling magnetic effectbetween sets of windings 816 and 818. This magnetic effect isimplemented by setting a minimum horizontal separation of two inchesbetween adjacent sets of windings 816 and 818. Note that correspondingsets of primary and secondary windings 816 _(b,1-3), 818 _(b,1-3) and816 _(c,1-3), 818 _(c,1-3) are provided for transformer legs 815 b,c ofsecond and third phases (which are shown in limited form in FIG. 8D).

With reference now to FIG. 8E, illustrated is a schematic diagramcorrelating the segmented windings of FIG. 8D to the correspondingconnections of each of a plurality of power cubes of a given slice. Asillustrated, the corresponding primary windings of a given transformerleg (namely at the same phase) couple to a same phase of input power.And similarly, the corresponding secondary windings of a given phase legcouple in a DELTA configuration to one of a corresponding power cubes(not shown for ease of illustration in FIG. 8E) of a given slice. Notethe additional reference marks for primary and secondary windings inFIGS. 8D and 8E show the correspondence between primary and secondarywindings for a first phase (AP1-AP3 and AS1-AS3) as adapted around atransformer leg and in the schematic diagram of FIG. 8E. Thus with anarrangement as in FIG. 8E, a transformer is adapted with three WYEconfiguration in parallel on the primary windings and three isolatedDELTA configuration at the secondary of the transformer.

Thus with this arrangement, embodiments provide a high efficiency powertransformer design with balanced secondary impedances. There are threeparallel primary windings for each secondary winding. Side-by-sidearrangement of windings reduces coupling between secondary windings andalso increases equivalent impedance seen by the converter. Thiseliminates the need for extra series inductance per phase inserted atthe transformer primary or secondary to ensure converter controlstability. It also eliminates the need for any additional filters at theconverter input. For Si-based device systems, the need for extrainductance may be allowed as the converter's AFE is switched at lowfrequency to maintain the overall loss content low. The transformer isdesigned such as it can be operated at A and B points as demonstrated bythe efficiency curve of FIG. 9. In an embodiment, the transformer ratingis in the range of 750 kVA and 1000 kVA for a slice systemconfiguration. For balanced impedances, windings are wound inside-by-side arrangement.

Referring now to FIG. 10, shown is a block diagram of a slicearrangement in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention. More specifically, in the embodiment of FIG. 10, a slice isfurther provided with additional inductance for active front end devicesby way of reactors. As illustrated, in FIG. 10, a slice cabinet 1000includes a transformer section 1010 and an inverter section 1050. In theillustration shown, an arrangement with air cooled transformer andinverter sections is provided. In addition (and by way of comparison tothe arrangement shown in FIG. 5), within transformer section 1010, aplurality of AFE reactors 1040 ₁-1040 ₃ are provided. By way of theseAFE reactors, a construction is realized that accommodates extrainductance for Si device-based designs. The required inductance may bein the range of 5% and the switching frequency is kept within the rangeof 2-3 kHz. The AFE reactors are connecter in series (per phase) betweeneach secondary DELTA and corresponding cube AFE converter input line.

Embodiments may further provide for efficiencies in configuration of apower cube that implements SiC-based switching devices. Specifically, inan embodiment a laminated DC bus bar design may be used to enhance WBGdevice performance. This design may minimize the parasitic inductance toless than 13 nH for better SiC device switching performance. The designimproves cube switching and short circuit protection by minimizing thetotal equivalent loop inductance seen during SiC device switching. In apreferred implementation a full SiC device topology may be used with aspecific SiC power module terminal layout.

In another implementation a hybrid device cube topology (e.g., SiIGBT-based rectifier and SiC MOSFET-based inverter) may be present thatutilizes the same DC bus inductance minimization concept. Understandthat other SiC device packages with different power terminal layouts maybe also utilized.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, shown is a graphical illustration of a fullSiC-based power cube in accordance with an embodiment. As seen, powercube 1100 is implemented in an enclosure 1110. Incoming three-phasepower as received from a transformer secondary is provided via aplurality of input AC bus bars 1180. In an embodiment, three such inputbus bars are provided to couple incoming three-phase power tocorresponding front end SiCs. As shown in FIG. 11, AC bus bars 1180 aredisplaced towards a rear portion of power cube 1100 for improving heatrejection relief. This is so, since with this placement of AC bus bars1180, bus bar design is simplified in that they can be fabricated with ashorter length and their heat rejection bulk is not concentrated overthe SiC devices or under a DC bus bar. Thus in the embodiment shown, busbars 1180 may couple to SiCs of a front end stage (details of which arenot shown in FIG. 11). Note that the switching of the SiC devices may becontrolled by fiber optic SiC gate driver interfaces 1120 ₀-1120 _(n).While 5 such driver interfaces are shown in the embodiment of FIG. 11,different numbers may be present in other embodiments. Fornon-regenerative applications, a passive front end rectifier may includedual diode power modules, therefore only two switches are controlled(inverter side), thus, only 2 driver interfaces are used. Hybrid andfull SiC topologies use 5 controlled switches each (SiC MOSFET and/orIGBTs), therefore 5 driver interfaces are needed. If there are parallelSiC devices, a maximum of 10 driver interfaces may be needed. Controlsignals are provided to driver interfaces 1120 via a SiC based controlboard 1130 that couples to interfaces 1120 via corresponding fiber opticinterconnects 1135. As further illustrated in FIG. 11, driver interfaces1120 are adapted above SiC modules themself which in turn are configuredon a cold plate assembly 1150. Note that power may be provided tovarious control and monitoring circuitry via a power supply 1195.

As further illustrated, at a forward portion of enclosure 1110, a DClink is formed with a DC bus 1160, details of which are described below.The DC link further includes, in addition to DC bus 1160 itself, aplurality of capacitors 1165 coupled thereto, a representative one ofwhich is identified in FIG. 11. In an embodiment, power cube 1100 may beimplemented with DC bus 1160 coupled to capacitors 1165 having anoptimized sizing. In a particular embodiment, a given power cube may beimplemented with a capacitance of between approximately 7.6-11.4millifarads (mF) for better transient and power transfer performance.

Still with reference to FIG. 11, output power may be output from powercube 1100 via a plurality of output bus bars 1170, which as shown coupleto corresponding ones of AC bus bars 1180.

To provide for cooling of SiCs and other components within power cube1100, conduits 1190, 1192 may be provided to direct a flow of coolingliquid or other cooling media. Understand while shown at this high levelin the embodiment of FIG. 11, many variations and alternatives arepossible.

Embodiments provide a DC bus construction that improves SiC deviceclearance. More particularly, a DC bus may be designed to mechanicallydecouple the DC bus from AC bus bars; further allowing construction ofAC bus bars to be simplified as described above. In this way, deviceterminal clearances can be increased (e.g., from 2 mils to 5 mils). Andwith an electrical insulation improvement, the DC link bus can operatebetween 1000-1200VDC in an example embodiment.

Referring now to FIG. 12, shown is a graphical illustration of a DC busarrangement in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, DCbus 1200 may be implemented via a laminated construction including aplurality of layers 1210 ₀-1210 _(n). In the particular embodimentshown, a five layer arrangement is realized, however more or fewerlayers may be present in a particular embodiment. As illustrated, DC bus1200 is implemented with alternating layers of conductive and insulativematerial. More specifically, negative and positive DC bus layers 1210 ₁,1210 ₃, respectively couple between corresponding insulation layers 1210₀, 1210 ₂ and 1210 _(n). In an embodiment, DC bus layers 1210 ₁, 1210 ₃may be implemented with a given conductive material, e.g., copper, andmay have an approximate thicknesses of 50-100 mils. In turn, insulationlayers 1210 ₀, 1210 ₂, 1210 _(n), may be implemented with an insulativematerial, e.g., PET insulation materials. In a given embodiment,insulation layers 1210 ₀, 1210 _(n) may be configured with a thicknessof between approximately 5-10 mils, and insulation layer 1210 ₂ may beadapted with an insulative material of layer between 5-20 mils thick.

As further shown in inset 1250 of FIG. 12 with the raised arrangement ofthe DC bus 1200, including a first horizontal portion 1275 and a secondraised horizontal portion 1280, a mechanical decoupling of AC bus barsfrom the DC link is realized. Also as shown the formed DC bus provides aplurality of clearances, including representative clearances 1260 and1270 on first horizontal portion 1275. More specifically, clearances1260 provide an AC bus clearance. Via clearance 1260, an AC bus bar canbe torqued to an SiC device. In turn, second horizontal portion 1280 mayprovide for connection to the capacitors of DC link.

Via clearances 1270, gate driver connections may be made. Via thislocation of clearances 1270, DC bus copper area may be maximized and ACbus bar design can be simplified. That is, the AC bus bars can belocated in a straight fashion from the back of the power converter. Thisallows the reduction of copper (smaller AC buses) and packagingsimplification (small physical space). In one embodiment, the positiveand negative SiC device connection to the DC laminated bus is achievedby using three embossed circles set at each side of clearances 1260. Toimprove DC bus terminal creepage distances, other SiC device terminalshape openings can be used as opposed to embossed circle sets. With thislaminated configuration including first horizontal portion 1275 havinggate drive openings directly through the DC bus, decoupling of AC busbars and DC bus bars is made possible.

In another system construction (not shown), insulation around the SiCdevice terminals is maximized by uniting clearances 1270 and 1260 in asingle opening on an insulation layer to increase clearances over 5 milswithout a significant increase on system loop inductance. The sameprocedure can be performed on the negative copper plate 1210 ₃.

Referring now to FIG. 13, shown is an arrangement having decoupled ACand DC buses. More specifically as illustrated in FIG. 13, a cold plate1300 assembly is provided on which a plurality of gate driversinterfaces 1310 ₀-1310 _(n) are present. As discussed above, such driverinterfaces provide control signals to gates of SiCs or other switchingdevices 1330 adapted below the gate driver boards (and which are coupledto cold plate assembly 1300). As further illustrated, extending fromswitching devices 1330 are a plurality of AC bus bars 1320 ₀-1320 _(n).While 5 such AC bus bars are shown, more or fewer may be present in aparticular embodiment. With this arrangement, AC bus bars 1320 may bedecoupled from a DC bus (not shown in FIG. 13), but understand that suchDC bus is adapted to a rear of cold plate assembly 1300 (while AC busbars 1320 extend from a forward portion of cold plate assembly 1300). Inthis way, AC bus bars 1320 provide an improved power cube packaging.Note that output bus bar cube connections (not shown in FIG. 13) maycouple to AC bus bars 1320 ₃, 1320 _(n).

While the present invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerousmodifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A medium voltage power converter comprising: aplurality of slices each having: a three-phase transformer including,for each of the phases, a plurality of segmented primary windingsadapted about a transformer leg in a side-by-side manner, the pluralityof segmented primary windings to directly couple to a grid connection ofa utility source of input power that operates at a frequency of 50/60Hertz and a plurality of segmented secondary windings; and a pluralityof power cubes coupled to the plurality of segmented secondary windings,each of the plurality of power cubes comprising a low frequency frontend stage, a DC link, and a high frequency silicon carbide (SiC)inverter stage to couple to a high frequency load or to a high speedmachine.
 2. The medium voltage power converter of claim 1, furthercomprising one or more sensors coupled to an input of the medium voltagepower converter to obtain sensor information.
 3. The medium voltagepower converter of claim 2, further comprising a circuit breaker systemcoupled between the utility source of input power and the medium voltagepower converter.
 4. The medium voltage power converter of claim 3,wherein the circuit breaker system is to actively connect or disconnectthe medium voltage power converter from the utility source of inputpower based at least in part on the sensor information.
 5. The mediumvoltage power converter of claim 1, further comprising a grid interfacecontroller to store and provide support functions to the high speedmachine, a high speed mechanical load, and a utility grid system.
 6. Themedium voltage power converter of claim 1, wherein the high frequencyload comprises a high speed machine to operate at a frequency between500-1000 Hertz.
 7. The medium voltage power converter of claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of power cubes comprises an enclosurehaving a plurality of AC bus bars displaced towards a first face of thepower cube.
 8. The medium voltage power converter of claim 7, wherein aDC bus of the DC link comprises a laminated configuration displacedtowards a second face of the power cube, the laminated configurationhaving a first horizontal portion having gate drive openings formeddirectly there through.
 9. The medium voltage power converter of claim8, wherein the DC bus further comprises a second horizontal portionvertically offset from the first horizontal portion to couple to aplurality of capacitors, the plurality of capacitors having acapacitance of between approximately 7.6 to 11.4 millifarads.
 10. Themedium voltage power converter of claim 9, wherein the second horizontalportion is to couple to a plurality of capacitors.
 11. The mediumvoltage power converter of claim 10, wherein the first horizontalportion comprises: a plurality of AC bus clearances via which aplurality of AC bus bars are to couple to at least one SiC device; and aplurality of gate driver interfaces via which interconnects forcommunication of gate drive signals are adapted.
 12. A medium voltagepower converter comprising: a plurality of slices each having athree-phase transformer including, for each of the phases, a pluralityof segmented primary windings adapted about a transformer leg in aside-by-side manner to directly couple to a point of common coupling ofa utility at a first frequency of the utility that operates at 50/60Hertz and a plurality of secondary windings each to couple to one of aplurality of power cubes of the slice, each of the plurality of powercubes comprising an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) activefront end stage, a DC link, and a silicon carbide (SiC) back end stageto couple to a load at a second frequency, the second frequency greaterthan the first frequency.
 13. The medium voltage power converter ofclaim 12, wherein when the load is a source of power, the SiC back endstage is to operate as a rectifier and the IGBT active front end stageis to operate as an inverter, to enable generated power to be providedto the utility via the point of common coupling.
 14. The medium voltagepower converter of claim 13, further comprising a controller to causethe SiC back end stage to operate as the inverter and the IGBT activefront end stage to operate as the rectifier when the utility is thesource of power.
 15. A transformer for a medium voltage power convertercomprising: a plurality of core legs adapted between a first column anda second column, each of the plurality of core legs associated with aphase of three-phase power and having: a set of segmented primarywindings adapted around the corresponding core leg in a side-by-sidemanner; and a set of segmented secondary windings adapted around the setof segmented primary windings in the side-by-side manner.
 16. Thetransformer of claim 15, wherein the set of segmented primary windingsfor a first core leg is connected in parallel.
 17. The transformer ofclaim 15, wherein: each of a first set of segmented secondary windingsadapted around the set of segmented primary windings adapted around afirst core leg is coupled to one of a first power cube, the first powercube comprising a low frequency front end stage, a DC link, and a highfrequency back end stage, a second power cube comprising a low frequencyfront end stage, a DC link, and a high frequency back end stage and athird power cube comprising a low frequency front end stage, a DC link,and a high frequency back end stage; each of a second set of segmentedsecondary windings adapted around the set of segmented primary windingsadapted around a second core leg is coupled to one of the first powercube, the second power cube and the third power cube; and each of athird set of segmented secondary windings adapted around the set ofsegmented primary windings adapted around a third core leg is coupled toone of the first power cube, the second power cube and the third powercube.
 18. The transformer of claim 17, wherein the set of segmentedsecondary windings provides a balanced impedance to the plurality ofpower cubes.
 19. The transformer of claim 17, wherein each of the set ofsegmented primary windings is spaced from another of the set ofsegmented primary windings by a first separation distance of at leasttwo inches to provide decoupling from each other.
 20. The transformer ofclaim 19, wherein the set of segmented secondary windings provides anamount of the balanced impedance to the plurality of power cubes toensure control stability.
 21. The transformer of claim 20, wherein eachof the set of segmented primary windings is spaced from the set ofsegmented secondary windings by a second separation distance of at leasta half inch.